Senior Social Work Practitioner - Children and Families

Bath and North East Somerset Council; Bristol; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Bath and North East Somerset Council is seeking a Senior Social Work Practitioner to join their dynamic team. This role focuses on collaborative work with families, ensuring children's needs are met through tailored interventions and support. The position offers opportunities for professional development and working within an innovative local authority known for its effective support services.

Benefits

Welcome Payment of 5% of overall salary

Relocation Package of up to £8,000

Retention Payments of £2,000

Regular supervision and training opportunities

Paid Social Work England membership renewals

Access to flexible working tools like laptop and iPhone

Qualifications

• Must have relevant social work qualification.
• Knowledge of legislative framework governing children's services required.
• IT skills necessary to operate standard electronic systems.

Responsibilities

• Provide co-ordinated social care services to children and families.
• Undertake assessments and child protection investigations.
• Supervise Family Support Practitioners and mentor newly qualified social workers.

Skills

Passion for supporting families

Collaborative work

Understanding of legislative framework

Education

Relevant social work qualification

Job description

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Senior Social Work Practitioner - Children and Families, Bristol

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Client:

Bath and North East Somerset Council

Location:

Bristol, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

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EU work permit required:

Yes

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Job Reference:

5aaf6cb4e5d3

Job Views:

19

Posted:

22.06.2025

Expiry Date:

06.08.2025

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Job Description:

At Bath & North East Somerset Council we have one overriding purpose to improve people’s lives.

Welcome Payment of 5% of overall salary* (pro-rata for part-time roles)

Retention Payments of £2,000 Payable* (pro-rata for part-time roles)

Relocation Package of up to £8,000 available*

*Please enquire for more details.

If your passion is around collaborative work with families, centred on building relationships in order to help families develop resilience and make changes for their children, then we are the Local Authority for you. Working with families to keep children at home wherever possible, our dynamic teams work with families from point of contact through to long term support and intervention. Our practice model is underpinned by relationship-based, systemic approaches to facilitate change, alongside trauma informed practice.

Bath and North East Somerset Children’s Social Care are an innovative small Local Authority focused on therapeutic assessment and support. Rated Good by OFSTED, with continued vision and drive to improve further.

We have exciting opportunities for experienced Social Workers to join us in Senior Social Work Practitioner positions. We are committed to being a dynamic and creative Local Authority, working hard to think differently about how we approach our work with families. We are deeply committed to providing tailored high-quality services and well thought out interventions to families to keep children safe. Our practice is values-driven with a strong ethos of child-focused interventions.

About the role:

You will work in partnership with an enthusiastic team consisting of a Team Manager, Deputy Team Manager, Senior Practitioners, Social Workers, Family Support Practitioners and Administrative staff.

Family Support Teams, within the Safeguarding Outcomes Service

This rewarding role will see you responding to, co-ordinating and delivering a range of social care services to children, young people and families in the Bath and North East Somerset area for children subject to Child in Need Plans, Child Protection Plans, Children in Care, and children subject to legal proceedings. The role will include undertaking single assessments and section 47 child protection investigations. We work closely with our Family Support Plus team who deliver extensive Family Group Conferences to utilise resources and support within families to keep children safe, as well as tailored interventions including the New Way domestic abuse service.

Children In Care Teams, within the Care Outcomes Service

This varied role will see you responding to, co-ordinating and delivering a range of social care services to children, young people and families in the Bath and North East Somerset area for children who are looked after and children who have a plan of adoption. We work closely with our colleagues across the service and have established partnerships with agencies across health, education and support services to ensure we can respond as effectively as possible to the needs of children, young people, and their families.

As a Senior Social Work Practitioner, you will have an opportunity to develop your supervisory skills through supervision of a Family Support Practitioner, as well as being able to access Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS) training to support a student social worker or taking on a mentoring role for newly qualified social workers on the ASYE programme from other teams.

You can expect:

• Regular supervision at a minimum of monthly one to one
• Weekly group reflective supervision to promote thoughtful and creative practice, supported by your peers and managers
• Monthly Peer Circles to ensure strong relationships and support between Senior Social Work Practitioners across the teams
• Extensive training opportunities, which include SARI workshops around culturally sensitive practice, opportunities to join a 6-month long training in Systemic Practice delivered by the Centre for Systemic Social Work, attachment-based workshops, and trauma-informed workshops
• Excellent administrative support with dedicated admin staff supporting each team
• Tri-annual Social Work Conferences with guest speakers who are experts in the field. Examples of previous conferences have included Donald Forrester, Brid Featherstone, Rebecca Carr-Hopkins, ‘Annie’ from Surviving Safeguarding, and Dr Karen Treisman
• Paid Social Work England membership renewals
• Access to Research in Practice
• Laptop and iPhone to promote flexible working, to enhance your work-life balance
• Relocation Payments are available
• A stable leadership team
• A stable and committed team, with very low rates of agency workers, and low vacancy rates

To apply you will have:

• A relevant social work qualification
• Knowledge of the legislative framework that governs children’s services
• Knowledge of theory and practice applicable to social work
• IT skills to enable operation of standard electronic systems
• Passion, commitment, and motivation to support the most vulnerable families in our area

Interested to find out more?

For more information about what roles are currently available, for Safeguarding Outcomes please call Phoebe Holland, Head of Service (Tue & Wed) on 01225 396709 or email [emailprotected] or Sam MacDonald, Head of Service (Mon, Thurs, Fri) on 01225 396860 or email [emailprotected] . For Care Outcomes, please call Joanna Parker, Head of Service on 01225 396957 or email [emailprotected] .

Interview date: TBC

Please Note: this is a rolling advert applications will be checked weekly and we will shortlist and interview on a rolling basis.

No agencies please.

About Bath & North East Somerset Council.

Working at Bath & North East Somerset provides an opportunity to contribute to your community and make a positive impact on the lives of residents. Our values shape how we work to deliver public services, and how we communicate with the residents we serve. We care about the best outcomes for local people, through our public services.

Why Bath & North East Somerset Council?

We offer a wide range of benefits, to ensure that you are paid fairly for your work, have the flexibility to enjoy a great work/life balance, and have the support you need. Go to https://jobsandcareers.bathnes.gov.uk/why-work-us/our-benefits

At Bath & North East Somerset Council we have one overriding purpose to improve peoples live. Find out more about our values at https://jobsandcareers.bathnes.gov.uk/why-work-us/our-values

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us. Find out more on our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/equality-and-diversity

We a re a Disability Confident Employer find out more at https://shorturl.at/ajrsW

The Council is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce. Applications for job-share, part-time and flexible working arrangements are welcomed and will be considered in line with business needs.

Please note that this role is subject to an Enhanced DBS Check.

Safeguarding Statement: The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable groups and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. As part of this commitment anyone working in a post with children or vulnerable groups will be expected to undertake an Enhanced DBS check with/without barred list checks.